Fluttershy's First

Twilight Casts a Spell

Still blindfolded after much debate with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy turned her head anxiously, trying her best to pretend the numbing music wasn't nearly causing her a panic attack. It was even harder for her to raise her voice to nearly a yell with Rarity's tail in her mouth, but she was desperate her friends could still hear her and she wouldn't get lost. "Rrrty! I dnn't know Iron Wiw wazsh going t' be errr waiter!" She suddenly became overwhelmingly crowded as the tail she was holding on to led her into a dense crowd of shifting bodies that brushed up next to her with a pure lack of personal space, and the sudden heat of sweating ponies as well caused her to shriek, dropping her guide.

"Aaay'va gotchya." Applejack's reassuring voice came as she dropped her head and pushed Fluttershy from behind.

Fluttershy struggled to decide if she would rather scamper her way backward out of the crowd, but inevitably lose her friends in the process. But with having to go through Applejack as an obstacle, she was free from ambivalence and rather let the farm pony push her onward skidding on her front two hooves, a position she was growing accustomed to.

But by now she began to hyperventilate and her heart pounded in her chest, she was almost certain the idea that was once in the back of her mind that she was no where near an actual restaurant was undoubtedly more than just a notion to shake off. The little feet of Angel came thrumming on the top of her head like that of a woodpecker. Ohhhhh my. Oh my oh my oh my. Her little body started to tremble between the ocean of ponies and music slowly wrapping itself around her. What she was at least certain of, being blindfolded and all, was that there was a considerable amount of darkness save the frequent flashes of light that would illuminate her face, as well as a heavy electro beat with a profound hint of refined tempo that everypony seemed to be dancing to. There were no tables or chairs, nopony around them seemed to be sitting, and there was definitely no smell of any food to be found (there was however the sweet smell of alcohol that hung on a few ponies' breaths).

She felt herself be pushed through one final wall of ponies until she broke through into a small opening in the crowd. The party antic sounds came in equal intensities for what seemed like miles in every direction; they were now in the deepest heart of it all. Applejack was nowhere to be found, and neither was Rarity, let alone any of the others, but Fluttershy was left to stand alone for a moment panting deeply as if she had been running, and sweat was just beginning to dampen her fur. But it wasn't a pant, or even a tremble out of fear she was coming to realize... No. She was concentrating on the strange, yet oddly welcoming bodily feelings coming from around her. She tried to let the sounds embrace her even more, trying to feel the movement that was betaking her.

Then Fluttershy felt a hot breath brush across her face merely inches away as Rarity tried her best not to yell too loudly, "Alright Fluttershy, you can take the blindfold off now dear!"

Fluttershy had to breathe for a moment before she realized Rarity was talking to her. She gave a slightly startled look from beneath her blindfold, "Oh! Um, alright then... H-here I go!" With that she brought her hooves to her face, slowly pulling down the soft fabric of one of Rarity's scarves. Beyond the deep blue casts of light, leaving dense shadows and bright streaks across tides of dancing ponies, the first thing that came to focus were the faces of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack standing in a half circle in front of her, looking with anxious smiles at her.

"We're not in a fancy restaurant are we," were the first words out of Fluttershy's mouth as she met the eyes of her friends, then looked to the tremendous Palace ballroom around her.

"Well um, no, you see," Rarity grinned innocently a little wider, "we're at theee..."

"We're at this here dance party we thought y'all would like ta attend!"

"Just us, these sweaty ponies, tons of music and we're gunna be locked in here aaaallll night 'till morning! Isn't that amazing?!" Pinkie Pie bounced in, each word making Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash cringe a little more at the thought of Fluttershy's reaction.

But if appearances weren't deceiving, the others would have thought Fluttershy was taking it rather well. She looked around the room a little more, thinking about how her friends snuck her in to a rave that she surely would have refused to go to had they asked her to. But now that she was actually in with no means of escape, she took the time to consider it wasn't too terribly frightening. She had been afraid of leaves, breaking twigs and sometimes even clouds, but there were obviously none of those here. She closed her eyes letting out a sigh, looking to the floor as she kicked at it, "You guys could'a just told me where we were really going." Fluttershy hoped to get her friends to feel guilty, that the only way her friends were able to get her to come to the dance party with them was by sneaking her in, but her disguise of hurt was lost when a smile hit her face and she was helpless to hiding it. A sigh of relief was heard from the others as well and they each piled onto Fluttershy with a hug and laughter.

She enjoyed the embrace, until she had a suddenly realization she had never been to this kind of a party before, "But wait! What am I supposed to do? I've never been to a rave before."

Twilight wasn't sharing the hug with the others. She stood by, still looking up to the higher towers and buttresses spiraling heavenward. The Palace Ballroom was newly 'refurnished' after the dragon attack that left half the city in flames; the Ballroom roof had collapsed and during the reconstruction, the Princesses decided to leave it roofless, instead placing over it a sheltering spell to keep out the elements, while letting the milky light of stars stand eternal testimony to the countless lives lost. But a figure rose from the night, a blackened figure walking amongst the silhouette of castle peaks, and a billowing mane blending its percolation of stars with those of the sky. She watched from above, beckoning Twilight to the night.

When the others eased their embrace at Fluttershy's worry, they realized too that Twilight was not with them. But at last Twilight regarded them. She looked first to Rarity who had extended the invitation, "Hey guys, I'm just not really feeling it tonight," she added with a small smile to show her consideration.

Applejack strode softly over and layed a hoof across her shoulder, matching the smile with one of understanding, "It's alright sugar cube."

With a final hug from the other Mane, Twilight began to turn back into the mass of ponies. But before she disappeared into the crowd, she stopped to give one last look over her shoulder, "Have fun Fluttershy!"

Twilight's horn glowed a mellow purple aura that slowly stretched and arched into a fiery crimson trail. Small sparks fluttered off, the light intensifying until it made the others squint and look away. There was a flash, and a flourish of magic released. The entire ballroom was swept in a blinding haze, leaving a sticky charge in the air that tasted like tin, and Twilight was gone.